1/8/09

3G Aircards make Everywhere a Hot Spot

A laptop with wifi makes computing more mobile and flexible. It lets you be online in restaurants, hotels, airports, or anywhere with a hot spot. However, your internet access is limited to locations that have wifi access. This is no longer the case if you've been introduced to 3G, the third generation of wireless computing.

3G aircards have changed the way people use their notebook computers.

Now, with a broadband aircard, you can use the internet nearly anywhere, even in rural locations, and usually at speeds much faster than dial-up.

To get hooked up, all you need to do is visit your local cell phone store and get an aircard that connects to your laptop through a card slot or usb connection. AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and Alltel have wireless aircards. They will usually give you the card for free if you agree to pay about $60 for a service plan. When I bought my aircard, I also paid a $25 installation fee. AT&T even sells a netbook computer with the aircard built inside.After buying the aircard, I installed a small piece of software that came with the card on a CD, and presto, I was on the internet through the aircard without having to find a hotspot.

How is this possible?

A new generation, or third generation (3G), of wireless products have entered the market that allow customers to use their wireless cell connections to access the internet at broadband speeds. So instead of looking for a wifi hotspot, with an aircard, you just have to be in range of the nearest cell phone tower for your network.